Workers in smaller establishments set to lose rights under proposed Delhi Shops & Establishments Act amendment

The Delhi Government’s proposed Bill to amend the Delhi Shops and Establishments Act, 1954, excludes shops and establishments with less than 20 employees from the ambit of the Act.

The Hindu accessed the draft ‘The Delhi Shops and Establishments (Amendment) Bill, 2026’, expected to be tabled by Law Minister Kapil Mishra during the ongoing session of the Delhi Assembly. The Bill was sent to the MLAs by the Assembly Secretariat on Tuesday (January 6, 2026).

The amendment proposes to add a clause to the 1954 Act so that it is applicable to shops and establishments “employing twenty or more employees.” The move is expected to strip lakhs of workers in the city of the rights provided in the Act, according to experts and labour unions.

The 1954 Act does not mention any minimum threshold of employees required for its applicability, and it is therefore enforceable on all shops and establishments, as per officials. The Act also provides several safeguards such as mandatory leaves, weekly holidays, fixed working hours, and a month’s notice for dismissal for them, among others.

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